My Radio E-Mail
The Winlink2000 (WL2K) system
Today I use Radio e-mail a lot, via the Winlink 2000 system (WL2K in short). This system was started by a group of American Radio Amateurs for the Radio Amateurs on the go and for Emergency Communications. Many Radio Amateurs have installed numerous HF/VHF/UHF Nodes all over the World that are also connected to Internet so there are 93 HF RMS PACTOR/WINMOR Access Points with frequency scanning, 229 VHF/UHF RMS PACKET Access Points, only for Radio Amateurs. APRSlink uses hundreds VHF APRS IGATES in every part of the World. This system can be used by Radio Amateur operators globally for sending/receiving e-mail, download Weather Maps, Weather Reports and other useful information.
I can access this system in many ways:
So this Winlink 2000 Radio E-mail system is extremely useful especially when I am on my holidays or somewhere without an Internet feed. You can contact me on SV1UY @ WINLINK.ORG (use either capital or small letters) even when I walk on the mountains. I will receive your e-mail in my VX-8E HT via APRSlink. Mobile phones do not work on the mountains but APRS or HF PACTOR do. When I am near a city with an RMS PACKET Node, I can also access this Node via PACKET Radio too, otherwise I use HF PACTOR to access any RMS PACTOR Node via HF.
If you send an e-mail to my radio e-mail address just remember to precede the subject line of your message with "//WL2K " and a space after it, without the quotes, for example [Subject: //WL2K (then any normal subject)]. and keep it short. This is Winlink 2000's anti-SPAM mechanism. I can also receive attachments (pictures, text, zip files, etc.) when I have access to HF PACTOR 3 or PACKET Radio.
Of course if you are a Winlink 2000 user, you just have to address your message to SV1UY without using the @WINLINK.ORG part after my callsign.
The great thing about the Winlink 2000 system is that I can receive my e-mail via radio no matter where I am in the world, and I do not have to inform the system like the WhitePages of the old PACKET MAIL FBBBBS system about which is your nearest BBS. My e-mail is just stored in Winlink 2000's wordlwide servers and I can pick it up using HF PACTOR, HF WINMOR, APRSlink via APRS, VHF/UHF PACKET RADIO, telnet if I have no radio equipment with me and I have internet connection in my netbook, even at an Internet Cafe using Internet Explorer and Winlink's WEBmail facility.
I even get a notification in my VX-8 when I switch it on and send an APRS BEACON if there is any radio e-mail waiting for me and I can even read it and send a short reply with my VX-8 or any APRS capable radio. This works in a similar way POP works in your PC with Outlook e-mail program.
I can also send position reports via the Winlink 2000 by sending a short radio e-mail whenever I connect to the system to read or send e-mail, and more...
For more information about Radio e-mail you can visit Winlink 2000 WEB site here and read all the information you need.
The PSKmail system
There is another Radio E-mail system, which has been started by Rein PA0R for the Radio Amateurs on the move, or the ones without an internet connection and allows you to send/receive e-mail directly from your e-mail provider via HF Radio (including Gmail), browse the WEB (ASCII text only), send APRS Position Beacons, APRS messages, short APRS e-mails, call CQ, have QSOS (CHAT between clients) and even send/receive tweets from Twitter! It also supports map clients like Xastir and UiView.
This is the PSKmail system which is a Narrow Band ARQ system for use by Radio Amateurs on the move. It does not use a special modem because it uses a PC's Soundcard. Fantastic for SoundCard Warriors who do not fear the fact that they have to calibrate the PC's soundcard against WWV and keep adjusting the SoundCard settings each time they changes bands (SoundCard Digital Modes are very finicky with their transmission audio settings) and for Radio Hams who would rather spend their hard earned cash to buy a faster computer rather than investing in a PACTOR Modem and keep their old PC!!!
PSKmail uses a multiplatform program, Fldigi by W1HKJ as a modem, and can use most if not any digital mode supported by Fldigi, including the new robust PSK ARQ modes. These modes include Soft Viterbi decoding and interleaving to increase immunity to QRM and QRN. The system uses adaptive mode control to use the channel capacity efficiently. When channel quality deteriorates or gets better during a connected session, the system changes speed to adapt to the current conditions.
It has a client/server architecture and only allows 1 connected client at a time, just like PACTOR. Bandwidth using the maximum speed of PSK500R is 500 Hz, providing a net throughput of around 283 bps (with ONLINE compression), not bad for what you pay, but this is a bad use of our precious bandwidth on HF and too slow when compared with Pactor 2 that is much faster, 1200 bps with online compression and uses the same bandwidth as PSKmail thus making very good use of the same 500 Hz bandwidth. This PSK500R protocol can only beat Pactor 1 whose net throughput is 153 bps, but it is not as robust as Pactor 1 therefore we can say that PSK500R and Pactor 1 are nearly equal in overall speed, and when PSK500R meets any QRM on HF, it disconnects, where Pactor 1 with it's memory ARQ thrives on HF. Notice that I have not compared it with the faster Pactor modes, since it only competes with Pactor 1. On the other hand Per PA0R is always trying to make his program better and more robust, which is a good thing, but unfortunately he is stuck with PSK modulation because he believes that Radio e-mail should be narrowband, therefore PSK500R is the fastest mode he will ever use.
I only wish PSKmail could also support SCS Pactor Modems as well as other cheap Hardware Multimode Modems (KAM+, PK232, MFJ-1278 etc.) from other makers in addition to Fldigi, but when I asked I got the impression that Per hates Pactor and I was nearly told off for thinking heretically!!! Per also mentions in PSKmail's WEBpages that PACTOR 2 and 3 are not Radio Amateur Digital Modes because they are not in the public domain and because you have to pay if you want a PACTOR modem, as if our HF Radios, Computers, Antennas and basically most hardware we use in Amateur Radio were FREE. So he rules out Pactor modes, as non acceptable for use in PSKmail!!! This is a pity because PSKmail, as a concept, is much better than Winlink 2000 and it would thrive with the turbo PACTOR protocols 2,3 and now Pactor 4, and SCS has already started researching the next mode, Pactor 5!
As far as I'm concerned PSKmail is only worth using when you operate HF portable since PSK modes do not need a fast PC and thus are not power hungry. An old PC, laptop or netbook is usually fast enough! I only wish someone wrote a PSKmail client for Windows Mobile, Android or even Symbian OSes. Then PSKmail would be a really serious proposition for Radio e-mail.
PSKmail's client program, jPSKmail, is written in java and runs in Linux, Windows and OSX. The server is written in Perl.
Main frequency of operation in Europe is 10,147 Khz CF (10,146 DIAL USB) and default listening mode is PSK500R. There are only 10 HF Scanning PSKmail servers worldwide (7 in Europe, 1 in Australia, 1 in South Africa and 1 in Canada) and another 16 operating in one HF frequency, available for the Radio Amateur community, so it might be a struggle at times to read/send e-mail via this system.
You can find more information about PSKmail here. You can also download the latest programs!
Breaking News, PSKmail goes ANDROID
2/9/2011: The great news is that VK2ETA has just released AndPSKmail a PSKmail client for Android. I think this is great news for the Portable Radio Amateur operators, since the time you really want to use a Radio E-mail system is when you are operating HF portable, not when you are at your home QTH. This new Android PSKmail client will allow backpackers, cyclists, motorcyclists or anyone wanting a light, not power hungry HF Radio e-mail system, to send/read Radio e-mail while on the move (well their co-passenger could if they are riding a motorbike). Interested backpackers can surely do this on the move if they have an Android mobile phone or Android tablet PC and an FT-817 or IC-703 in their backpack! Looking forward to trying it with my 7 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab! Who knows I might even get to like PSKmail!!!
The Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System (NBEMS)
The americans have yet another Radio E-mail system, different from Winlink 2000 and PSKmail. It is called Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System (NBEMS) and uses Fldigi as modem and Flarq as an ERROR Correction program with other assorted programs to do file transfers, send radio messages and control your Rig. I have never used this system, apart from Fldigi which is a very good all mode HF DIGITAL MODES SoundCard program, but one can find more information on W1HKJ's WEB site and follow the links for fldigi/flarq, flwrap, flmsg, flrig, etc.
This system is probably as fast as PSKmail but much slower than Winlink 2000. Also it has a different approach in that they only use RF and it is not as sophisticated as Winlink 2000 and PSKmail. NBEMS does not have any MailServers (RMSes, CMS, APRSlink or PSKMailServers) installed spread all over the World. It is a peer to peer Radio E-mail System.
Also your computer's SoundCard has to be adjusted and you must keep an eye to your audio settings each time you change bands since SoundCard Digital Modes are very finicky about having the right sound ALC level on transmission.
There is also an NBEMS Yahoogroup here incase you wish to join them and find more information about this system.
Best Radio E-mail System?
As a conclusion I must say that the best and most reliable Radio e-mail system is Winlink 2000 if we use a PACTOR 2,3 or 4 modem on HF, an APRS handie, such as a TH-D7 or VX-8 and a cheap-small netbook computer with either Windows or Linux. SoundCard Mode Systems are out if you value reliability or if you want Emergency Communications because they are dead slow, except for WINMOR but look what the WINMOR developer has to say about his protocol in Winlink 2000's WEB Site:
PACTOR vs. WINMOR
Two of the popular protocols used on HF in the WL2K system are WINMOR and Pactor. While WINMOR may not equal P2 and P3 or P4 in total message transfer performance, it provides a cost-effective means of using the system, and is more robust and faster than P1, and faster than P2 in favorable conditions. WINMOR is attractive to anyone who has trouble justifying the high cost and low utilization of a P3-P4 modem. Mariners, who daily use radio email for long-distance lifeline communications at sea, can usually justify a Pactor modem purchase. EmComm agencies who fund equipment purchases are smart to opt for advanced Pactor modems for reliability and ease of use under the stress of emergency operations. Successful WINMOR operating requires skill in making multiple adjustments, and knowledge of the computer's operating system, which often do not lend themselves to success under the pressure of an emergency situation.
Conclusion
I must say that I do not totally agree with Winlink 2000's WEB site. I have tested WINMOR many times and have found out that in real life (i.e. on real HF COMMS) it is not faster than Pactor 2, nor is it more robust than Pactor 1. It is nearly as fast, but slower than Pactor 2, and really Pactor 1 is more robust than WINMOR in most cases. In the LABORATORY, WINMOR seems to be as good as P2 but this is not the case when it faces bad HF conditions that are common most of the time! Also something they keep well hidden in their comparison is the fact that in it's FAST mode WINMOR needs a 1600 HZ channel when Pactor 2 needs only 450 HZ.
After all the above, I think that although SoundCard Modes are OK for QSOS such as SSTV, RTTY, PSK31, Olivia and other exotic modes where you don't mind repeating your CALLSIGN, NAME and QTH twice, they are not suitable for RELIABLE and FAST Radio E-mail, DATA Transfer over Radio, Networking over Radio or Emergency Comms, a hardware Modem solution such an HF PACTOR 2/3 or 4 modem, being the most suitable solution.
Second best might be WINMOR, at least for now, although it is not much cheaper overall because you either have to pay an amount for a PTC Modem and keep your old PC, or buy a fast new PC with a decent soundcard and/or a suitable interface (SIGNALINK, not free), then buy WINMOR (it's not free) and suffer from PC latency, SoundCard instability (notorious in Windows even if you buy a SIGNALINK interface with a built-in soundcard), slower speeds, HF QRM/QRM/multipath distortion while you are struggling to send your very important e-mail or do your important file transfer, if these are important to you of course.
I'm not so sure how much money do you save in the end and if it's worth saving so little at the expense of all the above mentioned drawbacks!